Last year’s ‘On-Site Evaluation’ also ranked 1st… Kim Ha-seong, ‘China’s first infielder GG’ is really starting to show

Ha-Seong Kim (29, San Diego Padres) met even the most difficult conditions for winning the Major League (ML) Gold Glove Award. At the same time, the first Asian major league infielder and the first Korean to win the Gold Glove began to come into sight.

On the 7th (Korean time), American media outlet Baseball America selected the three best players in each field for the 2023 season among major league managers, scouts, and executives. For example, in the base running category, reliability was improved by subdividing the fastest players into those with the best overall base running ability, as well as pitchers with the best curveball, slider, and ball control.

Ha-seong Kim was proudly selected as the player with the best second base defense in the National League. He was evaluated by major league field officials as having shown the best second base defense in the 2023 season, beating his competitors Nico Horner (Chicago Cubs) and Ozzie Albis (Atlanta Braves).

The results of this vote have significant significance for Ha-seong Kim, who is aiming to win his first Gold Glove award. In selecting the Major League Gold Glove, 75% of the votes are from a total of 60 people, one from each of the 30 team managers and coaches, and the remaining 25% goes into the Fielding Index (SDI) developed by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) as an objective indicator. There is a tendency to vote for players who have previously received awards on the field or for famous players, which puts rookies or players with low name value at a disadvantage.

Ha-seong Kim in 2022 was also a representative example of being affected by fame. Last year, Ha-Seong Kim was among the three finalists for the National League Gold Glove while playing his first full season as a shortstop. Looking at the objective indicators, there was nothing for Kim Ha-seong to bow down to. At this time, the SDI value was 7.6, ranking 4th among National League shortstops, only 0.1 difference from Dansby Swanson (Atlanta Braves) at 7.7. Rather, the highest was 9.0 by another finalist, Miguel Rojas (Miami Marlins).

In another defensive indicator, DRS (Defensive Run Saved, an indicator that measures how many runs a defender prevents), Kim Ha-seong was second among the three finalists with +10 points, while Swanson was the worst with 9 points. However, due to falling behind in the on-field evaluation, the Gold Glove was given to Swanson, the starting shortstop who led Atlanta to 101 wins and first place in the National League East Division last year.

Looking at objective indicators this year, Kim Ha-seong is fully qualified to win the Gold Glove Award. SDI, which accounts for 25%, has already finished disclosing its figures before the Gold Glove announcement. SABR releases SDI figures to the public for the last time every August, and the final record, which is the sum of results from August onward until the end of the season, is released after the Gold Glove announcement. Therefore, the figures released in August can be used to estimate the three final candidates for that year’s Gold Glove.

Ha-seong Kim recorded an SDI of 8.3 as of August 14th, ranking first among major league second basemen and seventh among all positions. It is also a significant gap from other candidates Horner’s 5.7 and Albis’ 3.9. In the DRS figures released on the Fielding Bible website, he recorded +9 as a second baseman (3rd in the National League) and +15 in total (tied for 6th in the National League).

Unlike last year, this year, we had solid objective evidence and high on-site evaluation, so winning the Gold Glove was really not a dream. Colleagues are also supporting Kim Ha-seong’s Gold Glove award. According to the American media The Athletic, San Diego third baseman Manny Machado said, “Sometimes awards tend to go to certain people not because of their numbers but because of what they did in the past,” and cheered, “This year will definitely be Ha-Sung Kim’s year.” San Diego coach Bob Melvin also praised Ha-seong Kim, saying, “Ha-seong Kim is a truly amazing player. He is familiar as a shortstop, but now he looks like a gold glove player at second base.”소닉카지노

If he wins the Gold Glove, Ha-Sung Kim will become the first Korean and first Asian infielder to receive the honor. Before that, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki won the Gold Glove for 10 consecutive years (2001-2010).